These eyes have seen a lot of loves
But they’re never gonna see another one if they have anything to say about it.
Chipmunk
Modern chipmunks don’t appreciate the amount of labor their ancestors put into their roads.
Robin
He got up twice as early as everyone else.
Peacock
Stalking the dark-stormed land, he wonders if he truly is the last.
The war had been vicious. Much had been lost. He had lost his family. He had lost his friends. He had lost his very home.
But had he lost everything? Were there none like him? Was he to eke out the remainder of his days as the last shining remnant of a forgotten world?
He didn’t know. All he could do was what he had done, traveling, looking for hope. Hope that the next century would not draw to a close as last had … leaving him forever alone and lost in a corrupt and corrupting land.
And so, for one more day, he walked.
Meerkat performing Tamburlaine
We hear the Tartars and the eastern thieves,
Under the conduct of one Tamburlaine,
Presume a bickering with your emperor,
And think to rouse us from our dreadful siege
Of the famous Grecian Constantinople.
Western Tufted Deer
At some point in history, the following conversation must have occurred:
“So let’s see here, we’ve already got the vampire bat, vampire finch, vampire squirrel, vampire moth, vampire squid, vampire flying frogs, and Dracula ants. What should we call this critter?”
“How about ‘tufted deer’?”
“Yeah, that sounds ’bout right.”
Peacock
Even in infrared, peacocks are overly dramatic.
Seba's Short Tailed Bat
Interesting thing about infrared light … it doesn’t bother bats at all.
Bactrian Camel
The incredibly rare three hump camel.
Peacock
Sometimes it’s easier to see how feathers and scales are related.
Sign
Cable’ll cut you. Cable’ll cut you up bad.
Prairie Dog performing Titus Andronicus
The hunt is up, the morn is bright and grey,
The fields are fragrant and the woods are green:
Peacocking
(Facebook and Twitter friends, click through … this is a multi-image post)
“How does the bastard, orphan, son of a whore … Go on and on … Grow into more of a phenomenon?”
“Watch this obnoxious, arrogant, loudmouth bother … Be seated at the right hand of the father”
“Washington hires Hamilton right on sight
But Hamilton still wants to fight, not write
Now Hamilton’s skill with a quill is undeniable
But what do we have in common?”
“We’re reliable with the … Ladies!”
“There are so many to deflower”
“Ladies … Looks … Proximity to power”
“Ladies … They delighted and distracted him
Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after him”
“That’s true!”
(Though, to be fair, Alexander Hamilton was not actually a leucistic peacock.)
Wreathed Hornbill
According to Wikipedia, the wreathed hornbill is found in forests from far north-eastern India and Bhutan, east and south through mainland Southeast Asia and the Greater Sundas in Indonesia, except Sulawesi.
Something bad must have happened in Sulawesi a long time ago so no one goes there anymore.
Red Panda and Chipmunk
As it turns out, despite being herbivores (or, as humans say “vegan”), red pandas will attack animals.
These two “played” together until the chipmunk stopped moving, stuck in the fence.
I reported it to the keepers because many zoos have a policy whereby any animal that dies on zoo grounds requires an autopsy to make sure that any animal that came into contact with it wasn’t exposed to something nasty.
Sorry, not all the stories can be fun ones.
Prairie Dog performing As You Like It
Hang there, my verse, in witness of my love:
And thou, thrice-crowned queen of night, survey
With thy chaste eye, from thy pale sphere above
Otter
“Aaah, Saturday”
Lesser Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)
This is the lesser bird of paradise. It is rather noticeably lesser.
Prairie Dog performing Hamlet
He hath much land, and fertile: let a beast be lord of beasts, and his crib shall stand at the king’s mess: ’tis a chough; but, as I say, spacious in the possession of dirt.
Geoffrey’s Tamarin (Saguinus geoffroyi)
That’s not to say that there’s won’t be annoyances along the way.